Former Strictly star sparks backlash after becoming GB News presenter

Former Strictly Come Dancing professional AJ Pritchard has drawn criticism after landing a new gig on GB News.

The 31-year-old dancer made his presenting debut on Saturday (3 October) night, hosting the channel’s The Saturday Five show, which opened with a segment on shoplifting.

“I think the worrying thing [is] if you live or work in a city, you see it all the time,” Pritchard claimed. “Somebody walks into a shop, they pick up their meal deal, they fill their pockets with something, and they walk out.

“Nobody stops them. Nothing seems to happen. And you might think, ‘It’s only a few pounds; what difference does it really make?’ But think of this: thousands of times, every single shop, every single day, and suddenly, it’s not so petty at all.”

Both Pritchard’s presenting style and the fact he’s accepted a role on the controversial news channel have been criticised by fans, with one referencing the infamous “How’s Trish?” Hollyoaks scene.

“If you didn’t think anything AJ Pritchard did could be worse than his acting, allow me to introduce you to his segment on GB News,” they wrote.

“Wow!! Talk about a downward spiral,” said another, with a third person writing: “It’s hilarious the depths people will sink to for relevancy.”

Pritchard was a Strictly professional from 2016 to 2019, when he quit to “follow his dreams” of becoming a presenting double act with his brother, Love Islander Curtis Pritchard.

He then participated in the pandemic series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, filmed in Wales in late 2020, before taking part in Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins two years later.

More recently, he attempted to return to the world of dance by competing in The Next Pro, a US competition series where the prize was a hugely lucrative spot on the Dancing With the Stars professional line-up.

The dancer and his fiancée Zara Zoffany delayed their wedding so Pritchard could take part in The Next Pro, but he fell at the final hurdle and finished in second place.

During his time on the show, the dancer also managed to irk many of his former Strictly colleagues after claiming the BBC show needed to hire more British dancers.

“We’re in the UK, I’m proud to be British and there are so many fantastic boys and girls out there who would love the opportunity,” he told The Sun. “So really kind of regionally, it would support the country that we are proud to be. I would love to see that, personally.”

Former Strictly pro Oti Mabuse, whose sister Motsi is now on the judging panel, was one of the first to address Pritchard’s comments, saying he “might have rubbed a lot of people the wrong way with his personality”.

“It’s gonna be tough for him to come back from this because this was his second chance,” she said, referencing The Next Pro. “It’s gonna be tough for a lot of people to now warm to him.”

Karen Hauer, who was Strictly’s longest-serving pro until her exit this year, said: “You don’t hear Americans say we need only Americans.

“We’re all immigrants, we’re all doing the best that we can and we’re all gonna take the opportunities that we can. So yeah, it was a little bit low of him to say that. Don’t say that.”